Fran Allison

Fran Allison, who as the winsome straight man for a bulb-nosed clown named Kukla and a one-toothed dragon called Ollie made up one of the most popular and beloved triumvirates in TV history, died Tuesday morning. She was 81 and died at Sherman Oaks Community Hospital after a long struggle with bone marrow failure, an inability to produce enough blood cells, said Clark Dennis, her longtime friend. She had been admitted to the hospital near her Van Nuys home on May 23. Miss Allison was a veteran radio comedienne, hostess and singer when she became the only visible human member of the late Burr Tillstrom's captivating contingent of hand puppets.

The beloved puppet show "Kukla, Fran and Ollie," the creation of puppeteer Burr Tillstrom, had millions of ardent fans, among them Orson Welles, John Steinbeck and James Thurber. The show was also a major influence on future generations of puppeteers, such as Jim Henson. In fact, the Muppets' creator publicly said, "We owe everything to Burr Tillstrom and 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie.' " The classic series is celebrating its 60th anniversary with the release today on DVD of 39 episodes of the show that aired on PBS and in syndication from 1969-71 and the unveiling of a new stamp commemorating the series, which was among the first to appeal to both children and adults.

A memorial Mass for television actress Fran Allison will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Francis de Sales Church in Sherman Oaks. Conductor and entertainment personality Frank de Vol will deliver the eulogy. The star of "Kukla, Fran & Ollie" and many other television and radio shows was 81 when she died Tuesday.

October 20, 1996 | Donald Liebenson, Donald Liebenson is a Chicago-based freelancer who writes about home video

They don't make children's television shows like "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" anymore. Of course, they didn't back in 1947. But then puppeteer Burr Tillstrom created for the fledgling medium a whimsical universe populated by a cast of puppet characters that captivated generations. For the next three decades, Tillstrom resisted making the show, in his words, "big and noisy." He steadfastly retained its time capsule innocence.

The beloved puppet show "Kukla, Fran and Ollie," the creation of puppeteer Burr Tillstrom, had millions of ardent fans, among them Orson Welles, John Steinbeck and James Thurber. The show was also a major influence on future generations of puppeteers, such as Jim Henson. In fact, the Muppets' creator publicly said, "We owe everything to Burr Tillstrom and 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie.' " The classic series is celebrating its 60th anniversary with the release today on DVD of 39 episodes of the show that aired on PBS and in syndication from 1969-71 and the unveiling of a new stamp commemorating the series, which was among the first to appeal to both children and adults.

October 20, 1996 | Donald Liebenson, Donald Liebenson is a Chicago-based freelancer who writes about home video

They don't make children's television shows like "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" anymore. Of course, they didn't back in 1947. But then puppeteer Burr Tillstrom created for the fledgling medium a whimsical universe populated by a cast of puppet characters that captivated generations. For the next three decades, Tillstrom resisted making the show, in his words, "big and noisy." He steadfastly retained its time capsule innocence.

Fran Allison, best remembered as the warmhearted human foil for puppets on the popular "Kukla, Fran & Ollie" television show, died today at Sherman Oaks Community Hospital. She was 81. The cause of death was not immediately available. Allison joined the late Burr Tillstrom's puppet show when it began in 1947 on local TV in Chicago. She had worked as a singer and radio personality in shows originating from Chicago during the 1930s and 1940s, including playing "Aunt Fanny" on Don McNeill's "Breakfast Club."

A number of readers have written to suggest additions to "Final Bow , " the Dec. 24 list of celebrities who died during the 1980s. Here are those names, plus the many that had been deleted from the list because of space limitation: Alvin Ailey, Fran Allison, Adele Astaire, Chet Baker, Brook Benton, Amanda Blake, John Bonham, Adolph Caesar, Graham Chapman, James Coco, Jackie Coogan, Dennis Day, Bob Eberly, Bill Evans, Marty Feldman,...

Ransom Sherman, radio writer and actor, television host and monologuist who found and encouraged such talent as Jonathon Winters, Garry Moore and Fran Allison, has died at age 87. The pixieish comic died in a convalescent home in Henderson, Nev., Tuesday night of the infirmities of age. He had been living in retirement in nearby Boulder.

A memorial Mass for television actress Fran Allison will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Francis de Sales Church in Sherman Oaks. Conductor and entertainment personality Frank de Vol will deliver the eulogy. The star of "Kukla, Fran & Ollie" and many other television and radio shows was 81 when she died Tuesday.

Fran Allison, who as the winsome straight man for a bulb-nosed clown named Kukla and a one-toothed dragon called Ollie made up one of the most popular and beloved triumvirates in TV history, died Tuesday morning. She was 81 and died at Sherman Oaks Community Hospital after a long struggle with bone marrow failure, an inability to produce enough blood cells, said Clark Dennis, her longtime friend. She had been admitted to the hospital near her Van Nuys home on May 23. Miss Allison was a veteran radio comedienne, hostess and singer when she became the only visible human member of the late Burr Tillstrom's captivating contingent of hand puppets.

Fran Allison, best remembered as the warmhearted human foil for puppets on the popular "Kukla, Fran & Ollie" television show, died today at Sherman Oaks Community Hospital. She was 81. The cause of death was not immediately available. Allison joined the late Burr Tillstrom's puppet show when it began in 1947 on local TV in Chicago. She had worked as a singer and radio personality in shows originating from Chicago during the 1930s and 1940s, including playing "Aunt Fanny" on Don McNeill's "Breakfast Club."

Donald Thomas McNeill, who created and for 35 years hosted "Don McNeill's Breakfast Club," a morning radio show broadcast throughout the United States and Canada and to American armed forces around the world, has died. He was 88. McNeill, whose revered long-running Chicago-based show featuring a march around the breakfast table, died Tuesday in Evanston, Ill., of respiratory complications.